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Saturday, August 20, 2016

"...whereas men consistently were held to the strict standards... the women were allowed lighter duties and exceptions to policy."

If you can do the job, you should get the job. But this, if true, is bullshit. Female Rangers Were Given Special Treatment, Sources Say : People.com: "...whereas men consistently were held to the strict standards outlined in the Ranger School's Standing Operating Procedures handbook sources say, the women were allowed lighter duties and exceptions to policy.
Multiple sources told PEOPLE:

• Women were first sent to a special two-week training in January to get them ready for the school, which didn't start until April 20. Once there they were allowed to repeat the program until they passed – while men were held to a strict pass/fail standard.

• Afterward they spent months in a special platoon at Fort Benning getting, among other things, nutritional counseling and full-time training with a Ranger.

• While in the special platoon they were taken out to the land navigation course – a very tough part of the course that is timed – on a regular basis. The men had to see it for the first time when they went to the school.

• Once in the school they were allowed to repeat key parts – like patrols – while special consideration was not given to the men.

• A two-star general made personal appearances to cheer them along during one of the most challenging parts of the school, multiple sources tell PEOPLE.

The end result? Two women – First Lts. Kristen Griest and Shaye Haver – graduated August 21 (along with 381 men) and are wearing the prestigious Ranger Tab. Griest was surprised they made it.
"I thought we were going to be dropped after we failed Darby [part of Benning] the second time," Griest said at a press conference before graduation. "We were offered a Day One Recycle."

...On May 8, eight women were allowed to repeat the first phase. Once again, the women failed, sources said. They stumbled on patrols. "They were not aggressive enough," a source with knowledge of events tells PEOPLE. "They made poor combat decisions." Patrols are a crucial element in Ranger School. "If you fail patrols, it's significant, because you don't have what it takes," says Bubba Moore, a former Ranger Instructor with close ties to the Ranger and Fort Benning communities. "People will get killed."

In late May, with more failed events, commanders reassessed what to do with the women. Five women were sent back to their home units. Three were offered the chance to start Ranger School all over again, from the first day. They accepted the offer. The three women again failed patrols during the first phase, sources say.

That's when Gen. Miller himself arrived on the course, according to sources. Fort Benning later acknowledged to PEOPLE that Miller had gone to the training grounds while the women were on the course. A Fort Benning spokesman said Miller went there to commemorate his 30th anniversary of attending Ranger School, and did not go to pressure instructors into passing the women. Nevertheless, with Miller on scene, the women passed and progressed to the next phase. "Was it undue command influence?" a source with knowledge of events tells PEOPLE. "No matter what the general intended to convey, the instructors had no choice but to take this to mean, 'Play along.' " "The instructors knew what they were expected to do," the source says. "They did it." After the women continue to struggle, Miller showed up again, sources say. Two women passed and ultimately graduated on August 21."